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When I first heard that Ghostface's new album was going to be smoothed out on the R&B tip, I had my doubts about the project. Sure, the Natalie Portman dedication and the various interviews leading up to the release were entertaining, but the spectre of a cd full of radio friendly collaborations with Ne-Yo had me questioning the direction that Mr. Stark's career was heading. I finally got a chance to listen to the The Wizard of Poetry today, and while it doesn't quite serve as the return to glory that Only Built For Cuban Linx 2 was for Raekwon, it's far better than I expected (and to be fair, GFK clearly wasn't trying to recreate Ironman or Supreme Clientele anyway). You can listen to the whole album for free over here.
I shouldn't have been too surprised by the competency of the album, however, as Ghostface and his Wu-Tang clan members have a long history of successfully working with R&B artists. What follows is my top five such collaborations from the early days of the Wu. Method Man and Mary J. Blige's remake of Marvin Gaye's You're All I Need To Get By would have been number one on this list (specifically the Razor Sharp remix), however Universal Music won't allow embedding of the video so no soup for them (something about that song apparently attracts the copyright sharks, as the Marvin Gaye version isn't available at all in the U.S. on youtube).
Jodeci f/ Raekwon and Ghostface - Freek'n You (Remix)
Not that this toned down version is particularly subtle anyway, but the story goes that Devante originally intended for this song to be called "Fucking You," only relenting to a title change after being informed by the label that no music chain would ever stock the album with that name on there. There was a remix that DJ Clue put out, mixing in a sample of Jeru the Damaja's Come Clean over the original beat, that sounded even better than this version. If anyone has a copy of that mix please get at me, I've been trying to track that down for years.
GZA featuring D'Angelo - Cold War Remix
The general consensus seems to be that the original version is superior, but it's hard to find fault with D'Angelo's vocals on this one.
Mariah Carey f/ Ol' Dirty Bastard - Fantasy (Remix)
A remake of the Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love by Puffy and Mariah Carey? Perfect recipe for a radio-friendy cornball song, but the unlikely addition of Ol' Dirt Dog turns this into one of the more memorable Wu teamups. Mariah Carey apparently developed a strong bond with ODB after recording the song, as she and Dame Dash were the only ones to show up at his release from prison in 2003.
SWV f/ the Wu-Tang Clan - Anything (Old Skool Mix)
The Wu weren't the only rappers to make an appearance on SWV's debut album. Lord Finesse did a remix of Right Here, and a pre-Neptunes Pharrell produced and rapped on another remix of the same song. I have no idea what happened to the other two members of SWV, but Taj, the true dimepiece of the group in my opinion, went on to marry Heisman winner Eddie George and became a contestant on Survivor.
Davina featuring Raekwon - So Good
This was Davina's one big hit and after Loud records, where she not only was producing her own album but also doing the engineering for a lot of the label's other artists, folded (the first time) she apparently never managed to find another record deal.
9/30/2009 8:30:51 PM posted by Fresh